


A Step Behind

by bennettmp339



Series: Longing to be Found [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Afghanistan 1979-1989 War Memorial, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Banner is mentioned, Canon-Typical Violence, Chapter 6: The Museum of the Great Patriotic War has a content warning in the end notes, Chelentano does not have great pizza but it's a decent place to get some food, Cigarettes, EuroMaidan, Flaming Purple Margaritas should be a thing, Gen, HYDRA may be mighty but they are rather dumb, Happy Hogan is Mentioned, I hope all these hyperlinks work - html is not my strong suit, I've done the walk that Sam Steve and Natasha do, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Kyiv Ukraine, Kyiv cakes are a thing, Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi is an amazing train station, Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Monastery of the Caves, National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Pepper Potts is mentioned, PinchukArtCenter, Pirozhki are amazing when hot and fresh, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve enjoys sketching at art museums, Steve visits an art museum and is very excited, Steve's experience in Kyiv is basically the Peace Corps Response experience, The Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Tony is being really helpful behind the scenes, and it has fast train service to Kyiv, and potatoes, borshch is really good, did anyone see that one coming?, has a very small-town feel to it, i didn't even see that one coming, i've done this walk in Kyiv and it a very long day, it has a decent lunch menu, it's a lovely little town, it's soup with cabbage beets and beans, overnight flights are long and boring, rbb is fic is now with art, the Lonely Planet Guide to Ukraine is amazing, the author spent too much time researching whether the brands mentioned existed in the 1930s, the cafe where they get breakfast really exists, the coffee is decent and the pastries are excellent, though not all the way to the major ring road, transliterations are going to be interesting, welcome to Oleksandriya, writing Tony is not my strong suit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bennettmp339/pseuds/bennettmp339
Summary: After the events ofCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers goes on an epic journey through Ukraine with Natasha Romanov and Sam Wilson as they search for a man who is always a step ahead of them.





	1. Prologue: Jack Daniels and Camels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrow/gifts).



> This work is part of the 2018 Captain American Reverse Big Bang Challenge. It is completed, and chapters will be added to it as I approach my chosen posting date. I will be adding tags as I add chapters, in order to keep the suspense of the CapRBB.
> 
> This work spoils _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ , as well as _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ and subsequent movies. 
> 
> Edit: this was beta'ed by the lovely [ withinmelove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/withinmelove/pseuds/withinmelove).
> 
> The art for this collaboration can be found in [ Chapter 11 ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705609/chapters/34373708).

Project Insight went live and HYDRA rose. The helicarriers fell, taking the rest of Steve Rogers’ heart with them. SHIELD had been compromised, presumably from the beginning. The last of Peggy Carter’s legacy; the last of Howard Stark’s legacy; forever tainted by how it fell. Thousands dead, the Potomac yet again full of debris and oil. And Captain America, last seen leading the charge against HYDRA, missing. 

Everything else was small change, really. America was, depressingly, used to major disasters. Not to this scale, no, but after the Battle of New York, the Battle of London, and whatever Tony did in Florida, they were prepared for disasters. Thanks to offshore drilling, they were also used to oil spills. 

So people got to work. Ordinary citizens went to the site of the former SHIELD headquarters, and started helping the helpers. Some, those with some paramedical or firefighting training, ended up helping in the evacuation and found survivors in the the rubble. Some used their medical qualifications to help out at the local hospitals, as part of the medical teams that would refuse to rest until the last victim had been seen. Some provided counseling. Some went after the Potomac itself, cleaning the river and using gallons upon gallons of Dawn dish soap on the animals they pulled from the river. Some made food. Lots of food. Enough food to feed an army. 

Just as New York had twice before, just as London had too many times, Washington demonstrated what made Americans great - them coming together, to help each other. Tony Stark was, as usual, throwing money at the clean-up effort. Everything was working, and Washington was healing. Everything was as good as it could be, given the circumstances. Except…

Except Captain America hadn’t been seen since he went into battle, in a suit that was recently determined to have been stolen from the Smithsonian. His famed shield was dredged from the Potomac, and was quickly picked up by a scruffy looking man, who seemed incredibly nervous, but insisted that he was to collect the shield. Something about how he acted made the crew hand him the shield, though they were never able to pinpoint what was special about him. 

Rumors flew. Rumors that he had died on the helicarriers were quickly squashed, with the rescue crews pointing out that they’d dredged every inch of the Potomac from the Francis Scott Key Bridge all the way down to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Captain America was not in the wreckage. Neither was the man who’d been flying, providing Cap air support, before being forced from the sky, by a man with a metal arm. And, neither had the man with a metal arm been found. 

Before long, there was a national search. Anderson Cooper begged, Rachel Maddow beseeched, and even Jimmy Fallon couldn’t make light. Where was Cap? 

Eventually, someone made a nurse an offer they couldn’t refuse, and Cap was revealed to have been in Georgetown Hospital. He’d had emergency surgery to remove two bullets from his gut, and had checked himself out AMA within a day of waking up. But where had he gone?

Up in New York, Tony Stark was tired. He was tired of being tired, and too tired to even crack a smile at the reference. He was also tired of trying to cover for Captain America, who had disappeared from the public view. While Tony understood why Steve had done what he had done - there were way too many chances of HYDRA agents getting close to the injured symbol - he didn’t understand why he wouldn’t at least do a press conference. Pepper wanted to do one, to separate the Avengers from SHIELD and the World Security Council, but even Tony wasn’t speaking for the Captain. Pepper ensured it. She was very creative with her threats. 

It came to a head one night, 6 weeks after Project Insight, when Tony wandered into the kitchen, and found Steve with a bottle of whiskey ( _Jack Daniels? Where did he even get that?_ ), an unopened packet of cigarettes ( _Camels? Steve!_ ), and a file. Tony knew that look - he’d had that look himself a time or two. Steve didn’t even notice Tony as he approached, his eyes vacant as he stared into his tumbler full of corn-based booze. And not the good corn-based booze. Tony took the folder from his unresisting hands, and glanced at it, barely having time to figure out the language before Steve spoke, his voice broken. 

“Bucky loved this. It was his choice. When we could afford it. The Army gave us the cigarettes.”

It took Tony a moment to realize that Steve meant the booze was what Bucky loved, not the cigarettes. 

“Everyone has their faults. Though loving Jack is…” Tony noticed Steve’s hands were shaking,. “Are you okay, Steve? And don’t tell me that it’s fine, that’s so last millennium.”

And Steve told Tony everything. It was as if the walls had fallen, torn down with the wounds still raw and oozing pain and suffering into Steve’s every thought, every action. He told Tony everything. How he’d met Bucky. How they’d lived together in the Depression. The War, still so recent to Steve. How Bucky had fallen to his death in the Alps. And how Bucky was also the mythical assassin called “The Winter Soldier.” He didn’t seem to notice when Tony took the bottle from him.

“Natasha said she got that from a contact in Kyiv,” Steve said, gesturing to the folder. Tony was still holding it, though his fingers had long ago gone numb. 

“Do you know where he went?” Tony hoped that the former Winter Soldier, the former Bucky Barnes, was still alive. Steve needed him. 

“Natasha’s looking for him now.” Steve sighed. “I’m to lay low until there’s a confirmed sighting. She says it’s too much of a risk for me to be out looking for him. I don’t-” 

“Steve, you’re still recovering. You may have that fancy serum and heal stupidly fast, but you were shot a few days ago, and then you were in the mess that is the Potomac. Us mere mortals would have pneumonia.”

“I-”

“Steve, let the super spy do her job, and then you can do yours. Speaking of which, I need you. I need you to come with me while I get Clint out of whatever he got himself into. It looks like superspy must have been able to warn him, as he’s not where he’s supposed to be. And we’re going after him.”


	2. Chapter 1: First Class Tickets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After rescuing Clint, Steve learns that the Winter Soldier has been spotted.

Getting Clint was a milk run. Tipped off by Nat that something was going to go down, he’d hopped the border and gotten himself on the next plane to the Caribbean. Where Steve and Tony found him, drinking Flaming Purple Margaritas on the beach. Steve was pissed that Tony lied to him (“I need you to come with me while I get Clint out of whatever he got himself into” _heavily implies that Clint is in immediate and mortal danger, Tony_ ), and refused to speak to him. It was tense on the plane ride back to New York until Natasha called. Steve turned the volume of his phone up, so he could hear her better over the roar of the jet engines. She’d had a confirmed sighting. In Kyiv. She wasn’t sure how he’d gotten to Ukraine so quickly - the helicarriers had only fallen a few weeks ago, after all - but she’d been able to confirm the sighting with some grainy CCTV footage. The arm made it easy, even with the low quality footage. 

“Oh, and thank you for letting me borrow Sam,” Natasha added. “He’s been perfect cover.”

“I didn’t let you _borrow_ Sam, you _took_ Sam when you left.” Steve was aware that he sounded like a petulant five-year old who’d been denied his favorite toy. Beside him, Tony looked up from where he was typing rapidly his tablet, and snatched the phone from Steve. Steve gave him a furious look, but refused to acknowledge Tony. 

“Widow, you’re on speaker,” Tony said, sounding much more professional than he usually did on comms. “Are you with the Falcon?”

“Yes, Iron Man,” Natasha sounded amused. “Besides Cap, who’s with you?”

“Just the Hawk. I’ve been analyzing that footage you sent me, and it matches what Cap told me earlier about the person you’ve been looking for. I’ve also been able to confirm that the person you are looking for and,” here Tony paused, then backtracked, “I’ve also been able to confirm the identity of the person you’re looking for. It’s him.” 

“Why’s he in Kyiv?” Hawkeye asked. He’d been filled in by Tony on the flight back to New York. 

“Unknown, Hawkeye. I suspected that he’s going after HYDRA bases, but he hasn’t hit any yet. Though Ukraine was a hotbed of both Nazi and Soviet activity, so he could be going after a base we haven’t found yet.”

“Who’s joining you?” Tony asked, already sending her collated data about the locations of suspected HYDRA bases in the former Soviet Republics. He’d had JARVIS running the data since it hit Twitter. He also made hotel reservations for a hotel that would be nice, yet keep their cover as tourists. Steve watched everything flash across Tony’s tablet at such a speed even he had trouble keeping up; he was surprised Tony could. 

“Just Cap, at the moment. I’ll keep contact and let you know if that changes.”

“We’re heading back to the Tower. I’ll get Cap outfitted, and out to Kyiv by sundown. Send JARVIS whatever you want him to bring.”

“Copy. Widow out.” The line went dead. Tony’s tablet lit up, and he grabbed it quickly, smirking. 

“Bruce brought your shield back. I’ve set the fabricators to create a set of FALCON EXOs, so you’ll take those with you as well. Looks like the superspy has some requests. I’ll gather those, and get you some clothes that won’t draw attention to themselves in Europe… You’ll be flying commercial, unfortunately. Playboy billionaires just don’t fly to Ukraine without someone noticing… Looks like the TSA will bet getting a good look at your junk as you go through security....” Steve tuned Tony out as the man worked, though he made sure to steer him off of the plane and into the limo driven by the newly recovered Happy Hogan, who returned them to the Tower. Tony headed to his workshop to check on the bots and the fabricators, while Clint headed to the kitchen, and Steve went to pack. 

True to his word, the clothing Tony said he’d order showed up at Steve’s door shortly after Steve. The clothes would hold almost a full pack of gear, but would look normal, if a bit touristy. Steve didn’t recognize any of the labels, but the companies looked vaguely Italian. The Lonely Planet Field Guide topped the pile, and Steve packed everything into the luggage that he’d found in the closet. JARVIS let him know that Tony was looking for him, so he went the workshop, where Tony had three suitcases of various sizes on his worktables. 

“Okay, so here’s your luggage. To all scanners, it will look perfectly normal, so try not to lose it. This suitcase contains a new set of EXO wings, which you are not allowed to use, as the last time you tried to fly something, you ended up in the Atlantic Ocean. Let your bird friend know that, no, I did not change them from the original specs, so they should handle the same as the last set. The next set, though, he’ll have to collect in person, and they will be better. This suitcase contains stuff the superspy asked for. I did not ask why, I just supplied. It also has your shield and will also look perfectly normal on all scans not specifically looking for vibranium. I know you’d rather have it with you, but laws. Now, grab whatever you put your clothes in, I’ve gotten you on the next flight to Kyiv.”

“What’s in that one?” Steve pointed at the smallest suitcase.

“Your electronics and shit.” Tony shoved the two larger suitcases at Steve, grabbed the smaller one, and pushed Steve out the door, towards the elevator. Once inside, Tony switched bags, shoving the smaller bag at Steve and wrangling the larger wheeled suitcases with surprising skill. “Get that bag of yours, and JARVIS will direct you to where you need to be. Quickly.” The elevator doors opened, and Steve quickly ran and grabbed his bag. He turned off his lights, watered the plant that he still wasn’t completely sure wasn’t plastic and therefore an elaborate prank on Tony’s part, and jumped back into the elevator, which took him down to the basement of the Tower. 

There, Clint was leaning against a SUV, a travel mug of coffee in his hand. “Tony loaded your luggage, toss the bags in the backseat, and let’s go.” 

On the way to the airport, Clint passed Steve his new identity. Grant Stephens was a Gulf War vet who was moving to Ukraine for his work (he was a security consultant with one of the companies Stark owned; hence his first-class ticket and his luggage allowance), and he was looking forward to it despite the recent protests. He had his boarding passes, which told him that he would be taking an overnight flight from LaGuardia to Munich, and from there to Kyiv-Borispol. He was to study the information on the tablet in his bag on the flights, which would let him know how he was to get to where he was meeting Natasha. He was on his way to Bucky.


	3. Chapter 2: The Hilton Kyiv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve arrives in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Steve thought Tony had been… well, being _Tony_ when he said that the TSA would get a good look at his junk. He’d been wrong. So, so wrong. He’d checked in without a problem, and headed for the security line. JARVIS had made sure that he’s followed the “TSA rules” while packing, so he was at least prepared for the lines and removing his shoes and liquids. He took his computer ( _he had a computer?_ ) out, his tablet, his phone, and his toilet kit. He was glad that Tony had gotten him into the quick lines, where he didn’t have to take off his shoes, but he still had to walk through the scanner. Which, of course, beeped. And he got patted down. Closely. Thoroughly. He was patted down so thoroughly he felt violated. Which he told Tony and Clint on the encrypted phone as soon as he got to his gate. It seemed odd, openly checking in with his base, his headquarters, from the airport where anyone could see. 

Tony directed him to the fanciest lounge he’d ever seen outside of a magazine, and told him to order whatever he wanted off the drink menu, but to stay away from the Jack. That was when Steve realized that Tony had installed some sort of communications app on the phone, which allowed the team to text each other. Steve sat at the bar in the first-class lounge, and waited for his flight. 

The flight to Munich was uneventful, though Steve wasn’t sure why the flight attendants offered him Spam. It wasn’t even on the menu. His layover in Munich was in another fancy first-class lounge, though Steve ordered coffee in this one. He drank it black and commiserated with the businessman next to him. He offered a reasonable explanation for his transfer, and agreed that flying wasn’t fun. His flight to Kyiv was also uneventful, though the plane was a lot smaller and the flight had more turbulence. He’d checked his directions, and he got on the shuttle bus, knowing that he was to meet Nat and Sam at the main train station. According to several blogs that he’d read on his flight over, there was a landmark that could not be missed. He was meeting Nat there, and she would take him to the hotel, where Sam was waiting. 

Steve wondered why Sam wasn’t meeting him, along with Natasha, but he realized it as soon as he reached the train station. Sam would stand out, and standing out meant memorable. Steve realized very quickly that the landmark that you could not miss was a McDonalds, and that Natasha was waiting for him. She smiled slightly, but refrained from hugging him, though Steve saw her hands twitch as though she wanted to. She took one of large rolling suitcases instead. 

“You hungry?” She asked, leading him across the parking lot and past a row of bus stops on her way towards what looked like a major road. 

“I could eat.” Steve paused. “No, I’m starving, the food on the plane was… well, I think I’ve had better army rations.” Nat pulled a wad of money from her pocket. She blended in completely with the other women wandering around the train station 

“Sweet or savory?” She asked, heading straight to an older woman selling fruit and what looked like bread. 

“Filling.” Steve sniffed the air and was surprised by how good the bread-things smelled. Natasha conversed with the woman for a moment, in a language that Steve did not recognize, before she bought a few of the bread things, and Steve decided that he wanted some strawberries, so Natasha bought half a kilo of them as well. The older woman handed the food over with a glint in her eye that didn’t need any translation. Steve bit into the first bread-thing as Natasha collected the strawberries, and was rewarded by potatoes. Mashed potatoes, fried onions, and all in fried bread. Steve was in love. He must have said something in that respect, because Natasha gave him a look, and ordered a few more, handing over more of the oddly colored bills. Steve kept eating as Natasha thanked the woman and led him away. 

“Tony’s got us in hotel about 2 kilometers from the train station. It’s a nice walk. Pay attention, though, in case you need to get back to the train station on your own. You can get to most of the city, over 90% of the country, and all neighboring countries from that station and the neighboring Metro Station.”

“Tony?” Steve asked, adding, “he said he wasn’t going to fly over.” 

“He sent me a certificate for an open-ended stay in this hotel. I think he’s stayed here before, as management asked after him.”

“Where are we staying?” Steve asked as they walked. Natasha was right, it was a nice walk, and it was nicer to be walking, even if he and Natasha were dragging his suitcases, after his overnight transatlantic flight. It didn’t seem like he got on the plane last night, as it was only about 3 in the afternoon, here. Which was probably why he was starving.

“The Hilton Kyiv, of course.” Natasha actually smiled at Steve’s reaction. “Did you really thing that Tony would put us up in any other hotel?” Natasha pointed out various things, showing Steve how to read Kyiv like he could read Brooklyn. They passed various restaurants, and other evidence of a large city with an ancient history. After a few minutes of quiet walking and wheeling the suitcases, the road they were on intersected with a larger road, and Natasha directed him to drag a staircase down into the pedestrian tunnel, and they wandered through the underground market for a minute before popping up in front of the Hotel Express. Steve could see the glass monstrosity that had to be the Hilton Hotel a few blocks away. 

“Is it just me, or does this hotel remind you of something?” Steve asked, only mostly joking. 

“It looks a bit like the Tower, though there aren’t many ways to build a massive glass skyscraper,” Natasha agreed. 

Steve felt exhaustion take over as they walked into the hotel and Natasha checked him in, again speaking in that language that Steve didn’t recognize. He recognized some of the words from earlier, and handed over his passport when prompted by Natasha. The woman behind the counter switched to English, and asked Steve a few questions about his life and what he was doing in Ukraine. After a few minutes, she handed Steve back his passport and his room key, and Natasha led him to their rooms. 

Tony had set them up in a set of connecting suites. One of the documents on Steve’s tablet explained the set up, though Steve was too exhausted to remember it. He barely managed to greet Sam before he collapsed, exhausted, into the bed, his boots still on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Food notes:  
> \- Steve is eating "Pirozhki," which is a Ukrainian street food of a stuffed bun made from a yeast dough and fried.  
> \- Ukrainian strawberries start to appear in late May or early June. 
> 
> City notes:  
> \- The main train station mentioned is Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi Railway Station. The main entrance to the station is directly across from a two-story McDonalds.  
> \- The "adjacent Metro Station" is Vokzalna Metro Station, which sits on the Red Line of the Kyiv Metro.  
> \- The Kyiv Hilton is located about 2 kilometers from the railway station, and many kilometers from the main downtown historical district.


	4. Chapter 3: Mario’s Trattoria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner in Kyiv.

Steve woke up a few hours later, just as the sun we beginning to set. Sam and Natasha were sitting on the balcony, quietly discussing things. Natasha appeared to have gone shopping, as there was a bottle of water, a banana, and what looked like a candy bar on the nightstand. Steve ate the banana as he looked around the room, noticing that his suitcases had been unpacked and that the room Tony had put them in looked similar to Steve’s rooms in the Tower, though this room was a bit more nondescript. There was an old-world feel the room, something that New York, for all its glory, could not manage to do. Despite the incredibly modern glass facade, the hotel appeared rather classic on the inside. 

“You awake?” Sam asked Steve, stepping back into the room. He headed to the suitcase that contained his wings, and pulled out a set of clothes that looked like what Steve had packed. He turned his back to Steve before he changed into a pair of black jeans and a thin sweater. He looked less “American,” less like tourist, and more like he knew what he was doing and where he was going. 

“I thought that we could try a local restaurant,” Natasha said, stepping into the room. She’d changed her makeup and looked more like the women that Steve had seen on their way to the hotel. 

“I could eat,” Steve said, slowly standing and stretching. Superhuman he might be, but he was still recovering from being shot. 

“Which restaurant?” Sam asked.

“One we haven’t been to, doesn’t see that many tourists, and has a good borshch,” Natasha said as she applied lipstick. Her hair looked different, and Steve realized that she was wearing a wig. Her new hair was long and blond, and pulled back into a complicated braid. She smiled wryly, and picked up her coat. “Come along, boys.” They dutifully followed her as she led them back the way she’d taken Steve to the hotel. Now that Steve was paying more attention, he noticed that there was a chocolate shop near the hotel, and that there were lots of people walking through the park in front of the hotel.

“What’s the park?” he asked Natasha as they walked past it.

“The local botanical gardens. There’s a metro stop there, I’ll make sure you can navigate it tomorrow. We’re going to take the metro tomorrow and see if we can figure out what your buddy is up to.” Natasha kept going down the hill. “ Universitet Metro Station is closer to the hotel than the Vokzal Metro station, though neither should be done after dark, by yourselves. We’re going to cross Saksahanskoho, and then turn left. The restaurant is called “Mario’s” and has a great Ukrainian borshch.” 

After dinner (Natasha was right, though Sam wasn’t sure about beets, cabbage, and beans in his soup), they went for a walk, Natasha laughing as she pretended to wobble on her heels. They crossed the next street (Lva Tolstoho), and headed up towards the botanical gardens. Natasha pointed out a bakery and told them that they were going to go there for breakfast before heading to the Metro. She wouldn’t tell them where they were going to go, though Steve figured it had to do with whatever Bucky had been doing in Kyiv. He’d looked over the footage Natasha had sent over, but was not sure why Bucky had chosen Ukraine. 

The walked through the botanical gardens on their way back to the hotel, and Steve realized why Natasha had walked them back a different way. Not because she was worried about them being followed, but so that she would know that Steve and Sam could get to the Universitet Metro Station in the middle of the night at a dead run, if necessary. They wound their way through the gardens, up a flight of stairs, and then back down into a pedestrian tunnel, which popped them up on the side of the street closest to the hotel. Once safely in their rooms, Natasha briefed Steve on the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mario’s Trattoria is a real restaurant in Kyiv, and they make a great Ukrainian style red borshch. It's a few blocks from the Hilton Kyiv and Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi Railway Station.


	5. Chapter 4: The Winter Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve learns what Bucky did in Kyiv.

It was hard for Steve to hear - Bucky had not come to Ukraine willingly. Natasha speculated, and had had Tony look for evidence, that HYDRA had grabbed him as he fled from the Project Insight helicarriers. Natasha suspected that he’d managed to escape his handlers, and their base, somewhere outside the city. The video Steve had seen had been edited, and didn’t show the entire scope of how Natasha had found him. 

“The Winter Soldier was seen at Maidan, Steve.” Sam said the words with a gravitas that Steve didn’t understand. “Natasha can’t figure out how he got there, but he wasn’t your friend. He tore through the barricades and headed towards St. Mikhail’s. That’s how Natasha found him.” Sam leaned forward, and showed Steve the unedited footage. Bucky, dressed in the tac gear of the Winter Soldier, rammed his way through the barricades and strode purposefully through the protesters and up the street. He didn’t look at anyone, and seemed to be shaking. Sam clicked through to another video.

“This was taken two days later. It looks like he got in a fight, though we aren’t sure with whom.” Sam played new footage, and Steve watched as Bucky, still dressed in the tac gear of the Winter Soldier, grabbed someone by the throat and threw them against the wall, the metal arm gleaming in the street light. Steve looked away. 

“No, don’t look away, it gets better,” Sam told him, gently directing Steve to look at the footage. Bucky punched another person with his left arm, and that was when Steve realized that Bucky seemed to be defending something. Or, someone… 

“Is… Is he?” Steve asked, unable to finish his sentence.

“Yeah. Natasha tracked the guy down. He said he was jumped by those guys, and that some “Angliski” helped him out. Couldn’t give much more than a basic description, though what he remembers matches up to what Tony’s found.”

“Tony compiled the data I dumped,” Natasha said, taking over the narrative, for now. “He’s having JARVIS go through it, even brought in a code-breaker or two, and they noticed something interesting about the history of the Winter Soldier. Where he’s been seen, what he’s done. That sort of thing. Looks like he was in storage around the time of the fall of the Soviet Union, which is probably when he ended up in the control of the American branch of HYDRA.

“Anyway, JARVIS is also looking for evidence of Bucky in Ukraine. After he walked through the barricades at Maidan, he wandered through Kyiv, walking through the historic district. It looks like he went to a museum or two. He was seen on several CCTV cameras in the Metro, as well as at the museums. He disappeared at one of the Metro stations shortly after that second footage was taken, although JARVIS is running every single route he could have taken.”

“He went to a museum?” Steve asked. “Bucky hate museums.”

“Yes.” Natasha pulled out her tablet, and scrolled through a list. “Two, actually. The PinchukArtCenter, and The Museum of the Great Patriotic War. They aren’t close to each other, and it’s a bit of a trek to get to the second one.”

“What types of museums are they?” Steve asked. 

Nat checked her tablet again, before saying, “The Pinchuk is a contemporary art gallery, and the other is a WWII museum.”

“Mean anything to you?” Sam asked. Steve seemed to be thinking about something. 

“Sometimes, we would go to the Met or another museum, if we could afford it. I could sit and draw there for hours. Is this Pinchuk like the Met?”

“Not exactly. It’s know for contemporary and, quite frankly, weird, art.” Natasha brought up their website, and let Steve scroll through it.

“We have to go to those museums. See what he saw. Do what he did.”

“Do you think he’s leaving bread crumbs?” Sam asked. 

“I’m not sure. I hope I’ll understand more when I see the museums.” 

“Alright, we’ll go to the Pinchuk after breakfast.” Natasha stood, collected their tablets, and headed to the connecting door. “Wake up at 6 AM, boys,” she said. “Sleep tight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both of the museums mentioned are real museums in Kyiv.


	6. Chapter 5: PinchuckArtCenter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve, Natasha, and Sam enjoy the PinchuckArtCenter in historical downtown Kyiv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Transliteration note: Kyiv is the Ukrainian transliteration, while Kiev is the Russian transliteration.

The next morning, Natasha led them back to the bakery, where they ordered coffee and pastries. The women behind the counter were amused at Steve’s attempts to speak Ukrainian, so Natasha ordered for everyone, getting lattes and lots of French looking pastries. They collected their food and Natasha led them back towards the Universitet Metro Station. Instead of heading into the botanical gardens, she led them further up the hill. They sipped their lattes as they walked up the hill, taking in the National University and the parks around it. At a major intersection, Natasha led them to the left, pointing out the signs for the Metro and explaining how they could easily get to the train station, if needed, from that Metro station. 

“Lva Tolstoho doesn’t connect to the Red Line, but the Maidan stop connects, via the Khreshchatyk stop. That will take you to Vokzal. We’ll do that later, perhaps on the way back - the second museum is almost 5 kilometers from our hotel.” Near what looked like a fancy supermarket, Natasha turned them to the right and to the Pinchuck. 

After getting through the admissions, the three of them started at the top of the art gallery, and walked slowly through the collection. Steve enjoyed the feeling of walking through an art gallery for the first time since 1945, and his fingers itched for his sketchbook, if only to draw the gallery space and the view from the balcony of the hotel. He didn’t see any reason for Bucky to have come to this gallery, and mentioned it to Natasha, who disagreed. 

“He was here.” She leaned against the wall, as they watched Sam look at a picture. “The picture to the left of Sam. Go take a close look at it.” Steve nodded, and wound his way, slowly through the gallery until he got to the image. He studied it, and committed the markings just to the right of the frame to memory. They were the Morse signs for his initials: SGR. Someone wanted him to find this painting. Only after a solid 5 minutes of close inspection did a docent come up to him. They conversed about the image, and Steve learned that it was of a school in a town in central Ukraine, though the docent didn’t know much else. The docent suspected that the painter had used a nom de plume, as their name was not a traditional Ukrainian name, but was otherwise rather unhelpful. Steve memorized the name of the school and the town it was in, before winding his way back to Natasha. 

After several hours, they left the museum, and Natasha suggested that they find lunch in the city. She suggested a cafeteria style restaurant, as it would be crowded and therefore a good place to discuss their information. They agreed, and Natasha explained the history of the area and what remained of the now-open barricades as they walked down Khreshchatyk. They got to the restaurant, told them to wash their hands and meet her in the lobby. They did, smirking like schoolboys. 

Natasha met them in the lobby, and led them through the cafeteria-style lunch counter, explaining various Ukrainian dishes to them. The all went for potato vareniki, as well as red borshch, and one of the Ukrainian Salads. Natasha went for the one called “Russian salad,” while Steve took the one with corn and peas, and Sam to the only offering without mayonnaise. Natasha pointed out some sweet desserts, and drinks They paid at the counter and found a booth in the back corner, where they could compare notes on the gallery. 

“Bucky marked “SGR” in Morse on the wall next to a painting of a boarding school,” Steve said, eating his vareniki. “The docent didn’t know anything about the school or the artist, but suspects the artist used a nom de plume; said it’s not a traditional Ukrainian name. What did you find?”

“A creepy gallery, Steve. A creepy gallery.” Sam ate some of his salad, and expressed surprise that there were pickles in it. “Nothing to explain why Bucky went there.”

“Agreed. The only clue he left was at that painting.” Natasha looked like she was considering something. 

“We are not going to steal the painting, Natasha,” Steve hissed at her, and she shook her head. 

“No, the Winter Soldier would not risk his message getting into the wrong hands through something that simple. There will be nothing on the painting itself.” Natasha shook her head. “He must have left more clues at the WWII museum.”

“How far it from here?” Steve asked.

“More than a kilometer.” Natasha paused, clearly bringing up her mental map of Kyiv. She wasn’t lying, though the museum was more than 5 kilometers away… “We’ll walk through the Maidan, and then past the Rada, then the Lavra, then we’ll be there. More or less.” They all nodded, and used their tablets to follow Natasha’s route. Sam did not look impressed at the walking distance between the two locations, though he pointed out the various memorials on their way to the WWII Museum, and Steve expressed interest in learning more about the Lavra.

“It’s a set of catacombs and a very conservative church. If you want to go, we’ll have to come back - I’m not dressed appropriately.” At Steve’s look, she explained that they had a skirt length and color requirement for women to enter the church and the catacombs. 

The finished their lunch, tossed their garbage, and headed out to the museum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The PinchuckArtCenter is rather well-known for its exhibitions of "edgy" modern and contemporary art.   
> -The exhibition they would have seen was called [ "Fear and Hope" ](http://pinchukartcentre.org/en/exhibitions/24734).  
> -The exhibition I saw when I was there was called [ "Borderline. Ukrainian Art 1985–2004" ](http://pinchukartcentre.org/en/exhibitions/28812).  
> -They are eating at a cafeteria-style restaurant called "Puzata Hata."  
> -The [ "Kyiv Pechersk Lavra" ("Kyiv Monastery of the Caves") ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Pechersk_Lavra) is a historic Orthodox Monastery. It has a conservative dress code for visitors, especially women.


	7. Chapter 6: The Museum of the Great Patriotic War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After lunch, Steve, Sam, and Natasha go to The Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains references to multiple wars, as well as the EuroMaidan Protest. Nothing is discussed in detail in the chaper, though the end note contains details of the events referenced.

It was a several kilometer walk, from the restaurant to the museum, past the barricades of the EuroMaidan protest. As they passed the Maidan, Sam looked alarmed and tapped Steve on the shoulder. 

“That’s the impact from a .30 caliber round. Snipers use them in Afghanistan.” Sam looked around, feeling an eerie stillness. “What’s it doing here?”

“We’ll discuss it later,” Natasha’s tone brooked no argument. They kept walking, ignoring the young men who tried to get them to pay to hold their doves, and turned right on Mykhaila Hrushevskoho street, heading up. They walked quickly passed the National Art Museum of Ukraine (Natasha promised Steve that they would come back, if they could), the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers, Mariinskyi Park, before swinging past a medical center. They kept walking, passed the Latvian Embassy, until they got to a park. Steve asked if he could pay his respects to the Unknown Soldier, and they headed off to the Monument. 

After a sobering few minutes, they headed back to the main road, and walked passed a large church complex that Natasha identified as the Lavra. They kept walking, Sam insisting that they stop at the Afghan Memorial, which Natasha explained was for the 1980s Soviet Invasion. They hit the edge of the park, and Natasha pointed to the Statue of the Motherland.

“The museum is at the base of that statue. We should be coming up through the mural side, though I haven’t been here in a long time.” They kept walking, eventually finding the murals Natasha meant, before arriving at the feet of the Motherland Statue. They entered the museum, paid their fee, and started walking. 

About halfway through (it was a huge museum), Sam seemed to be flagging, though he would never say anything. They kept going, and Steve murmured to Natasha that he wasn’t sure why Bucky would have come to this museum. Natasha agreed, saying that she had studied everything closely. After a few hours, Steve became anxious, but they finished the museum, walking down a different route from the museum. They walked through another set of murals, and Natasha asked them how they wanted to go back to the hotel.

“We’re pretty far from the nearest Metro Station. Almost 2 kilometers. And more than 5 kilometers to the hotel.” Sam admitted that he was hungry, and they decided to walk towards the Metro Station, as there was likely to be a cafe near to the station. Natasha took them the quickest route, which took them past the Greek embassy, and they arrived at the Pecherska Metro Station in less than 30 minutes. There was a little cafe near to the entrance to the Metro, so they headed there for some coffee and a snack. 

They ordered, and quickly ate their food, sipping their drinks. Natasha told them that the Metro Station serviced another line, but that they could switch lines at the Zoloti Vorota Metro Station which crosses over with the Teatralna Station, which would get them to the Red Line. Then, it was a single stop back to Universitet. They agreed, and Natasha led them to the station. They bought their tokens, and took their first Metro ride in Kyiv. 

They made it back to their hotel, and Natasha told them that they had 30 minutes to shower and change before meeting her in the lobby before dinner. 

After dinner, they went back to their rooms, and Steve asked when they could go to the town Bucky had marked. Natasha nodded. “Tomorrow. We’ll buy tickets at the counter. I was curious as to why he picked this town out of all of the ones in Ukraine.”

“Maybe it means something to him?” Sam asked. 

“Is there any history in the town that might explain why he went there?” Steve asked Natasha, who was typing rapidly on her tablet. 

“Not according to JARVIS, there isn’t,” she said, scrolling rapidly through whatever JARVIS had sent her. “If I were to speculate, I’d think that he chose this town because there is no connection. That’s what I would do.”

Steve nodded, feeling relieved. The sooner they could get to the school in the painting, the sooner he would know why Bucky wanted him to go there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This end note contains a content warning for sniper fire, famine, and war. Nothing is discussed in more detail than a brief encyclopedia entry**.  
>  -  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> This chapter brushes on the events of EuroMaidan, specifically on the events 20 February 2014, where government-backed snipers fired into the EuroMaidan protest and Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square, Kyiv). Over 100 protesters were killed between 22 January 2014 and 23 February 2014. Maidan Nezalezhnosti has a very specific feel when you walk through it.  
> \- “That’s the impact from a .30 caliber round. Snipers use them in Afghanistan.” Sam looked around, feeling an eerie stillness. “What’s it doing here?”
> 
> Steve, Sam, and Natasha visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located within the Park of Eternal Glory. While they do not visit it, this park contains the "National Museum "Memorial to Holodomor victims."" The Holodomor was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine, 1932-33. It rivals the Great Famine of Ireland. 
> 
> The Afghan Memorial Sam asks to visit is the "Afghanistan 1979-1989 War Memorial," which is located halfway between the Lavra and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Most towns in Ukraine have their own memorial to this war. 
> 
> The Museum of the Great Patriotic War is sometimes referred to as "National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War." It is a massive museum; my friends and I only got through half of it in an entire morning.  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> -


	8. Chapter 7: Kyiv Cakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets a chance to go to an art museum without strings attached; or, Natasha buys a Kyiv Cake

The next morning, they checked out of the hotel, and headed back to the cafe they had visited before. Natasha explained that Tony had gotten them train tickets for the afternoon train to the town. They had all morning to look around Kyiv, before departing. After a leisurely breakfast, Natasha walked them to the train station, where they printed their tickets (Natasha had them on her tablet), and stashed their bags in the luggage area. Steve looked uncomfortable at leaving his shield in the luggage hold, and Sam didn’t seem to want to leave his wings, either, but there was no easy way to carry their luggage with them. At Steve’s request, they went to the National Art Museum. Instead of walking, they took the Metro, from the Vokzalna station, directly next to the train station.

Steve greatly enjoyed the museum, going to far as to sketch the interior of the museum on a napkin that he’d saved from breakfast. He looked happy, happier than Natasha had ever seen him. She made a note in her tablet, and wasn’t surprised to see season tickets to the Met show up. An all-inclusive spa day was also added, though that was for Natasha once she got back to New York. She messaged Pepper and they made tentative plans for a spa day once she got back. After an hour or so, Natasha and Sam decided to find a cafe near the museum, and left Steve to his sketching. Natasha set a very annoying reminder on his phone, and they found their cafe. The cafe was close to Maidan, and Sam once again felt that eerie feeling. Natasha again promised to explain, saying that she would once they got to the “Friendship hotel” where Tony had made reservations. 

They sat at the cafe and ordered coffee and pastries until Steve joined them. He looked refreshed, and had a stack of sketches on napkins in his hands. Natasha made a note to get him a sketchbook, and told him to order lunch. Steve asked if they could go back to the cafe where they’d had breakfast, and they headed back. Natasha showed them how to get to the Red line (the Khreshchatyk Station, where they’d come out earlier) from Maidan, and they spent some time enjoying the underground tunnels that line Kyiv. They got off at Universitet and walked through the botanical gardens, Steve confidently leading the way to the cafe, Sam laughing at him. 

They ordered lunch and more coffee, and Natasha ordered some pastries for the train. They settled at a table in the cafe, and enjoyed their lunch. 

Once Natasha’s alarm beeped at them, they headed back to the train station, where they collected their bags. Natasha disappeared for a few minutes, and came back with what she called a “Kyiv Cake,” and a tradition in Ukraine: when you go to Kyiv, you get a Kyiv Cake. 

Steve took out their tickets, and studied the departure board, watching as the board switched from Ukrainian to English, displaying the arrivals and departures. Their train was on the board, but wasn’t arriving for about 30 minutes. Steve noted the track, and suggested that they go and find it. They went up the grand staircase, and Steve took a minute to look over the train station. Natasha handed Sam the Kyiv Cake, and disappeared again, saying that she could make her way to the tracks. Sam and Steve found the tracks, and hauled their luggage down the stairs to the tracks themselves. Realizing that they had time to wait (the train wasn’t even at the station yet!), they put their bags down and took seats on them. Natasha found them a few minutes later, and she handed Steve a plastic bag.

“Thought you might like this,” she said. “It’s pretty simple, but it will get the job done.” Inside the bag was a sketchbook and a set of pencils. Basic graphite pencils and acidic paper, but exactly what Steve needed. He thanked Natasha, and started sketching the grand staircase and the train station. After a few minutes, the train pulled up. Natasha found their wagon (first class, because Tony), and they stashed their luggage in the luggage racks before taking their seats. Tony had bought them all four seats around a small table, so they were able to sit how they wanted and didn’t have to worry about neighbors. They settled into their seats, and waited for the train to depart. 

At exactly the departure time, the train was off, and they were on their way to Oleksandriya, and learning why Bucky was sending them there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A "Kyiv Cake" is a [ cake ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_cake) produced by Roshen. It is a tradition in some parts of Ukraine to buy one to share with friends upon your return from Kyiv.


	9. Chapter 8: The Druzhba Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve, Sam, and Natasha arrive in Oleksandriya, Ukraine.

The train ride was mostly uneventful, the train speeding its way through the Ukrainian countryside. They only stopped a few times before they got to Oleksandriya, and the attendant came back to let them know that they were approaching the stop. They hauled their luggage off the luggage rack, and waited. Slowly, the train reduced speed, and came to a stop in front of the smallest train station Steve had ever seen. "Олександрія" it proclaimed itself in Ukrainian, and they waited for the train to depart before stepping over the tracks and heading in to the station.

The station looked very modern from the inside, though Natasha walked them quickly through it. She handed Sam back the Kyiv Cake and walked quickly down to the waiting taxis. She seemed to converse with the drivers, before waving up at Sam and Steve, who laboriously lugged their luggage down to street level and joined Natasha. The driver loaded their luggage in the trunk and they settled into the sedan, Natasha sitting up front, since she spoke the local language and could give directions. 

She spoke quickly to the driver, and they were off. The driver seemed to go in circles for a few minutes, but Steve realized that the streets must be one way streets. They were also full of potholes, and Steve felt every bump on their way there. It took less than 20 minutes for them to make their way to the hotel. Natasha paid and tipped the driver, and they collected their luggage before checking into the hotel. There briefly appeared to be a problem with their check in, though it was quickly resolved. They all handed over their passports to be scanned and were handed room keys with their passports. The woman at the front desk insisted that Natasha remind them of something, which she nodded. 

“Like most Ukrainian hotels, you leave your key at the front desk when you leave, and you get it back when you come back. It helps prevent keys from getting lost,” she said as they walked towards their rooms. They weren’t on the first floor, and there wasn’t an elevator. “We’re in what’s called a 2+1, which is, well, you’ll have to see it.” They made it to their rooms, each taking turns to make sure their keys worked. 

The door opened to a small foyer, with a coat closet, and there were three doors in the foyer. The one on the left was for the bathroom, and the other two were their rooms. Steve opened the door directly in front of them, and noticed that it had a single bed. Sam opened the other door, and said that there were two single beds. The bed on the left side of the room was in the corner and facing the window, while the one on the right side of the room was closer to the window and facing the door. Steve insisted that Natasha get the single room, and Sam agreed. The two of them flipped a coin for the person who would sleep with their head to the window and feet to the door. Steve lost, though they both had to ask Natasha how to make the beds, as there didn’t appear to be sheets on the bed or a pillowcase on the pillow. Sam found a set of heavy blankets, which he tossed on the beds, while Natasha showed them that the top sheet and pillowcase were located under the duvet, still folded. Steve spent the next few minutes obsessing over getting his (and Sam’s!) bed ready to pass an Army inspection. 

Natasha gave them 45 minutes to get unpacked, showered, and changed for dinner. They flipped for who got the first shower (Natasha won), and Sam and Steve unpacked their pajamas and their toiletries. Sam’s wings and Steve’s shield remained packed, though they locked those suitcases. They took quick showers, and got changed for their dinner. 

Natasha decided that they needed to go to the local Ukrainian pizza restaurant, which was a few blocks from their hotel. They headed out, and were amazed that the restaurant had menus in English. They decided on how they wanted their pizza, and ordered at the counter. They also ordered beer, as it was the local thing to do. After paying they took their numbers to the seats Natasha claimed, and settled in to people watch. Natasha had snagged a booth by the window, so they could watch the pedestrians as they walked to wherever they were going. 

“On our way back to the hotel, we’ll stop and get some snacks and things. I noticed a little Produkti across from the hotel. We’ll be able to find sweets and snacks there.” Their pizzas arrived, and they fell on eating them. Steve wasn’t sure what he thought of the pizza, but the beer was good, and it worked with the setting. They ate their pizza, and lingered a bit in the restaurant, chatting lightly. 

They didn’t stay long, and quickly made their way back to their hotel, stopping at a small store with Camels on the outside. Steve wanted to try some of the bulk sweets, and Sam was interested in the chocolate. Natasha patiently explained what things were, and Steve memorized various vocabulary words, so that he could buy things that he liked later. He got some hard candy, and some caramels. Sam got some chocolate covered sunflower seeds, and a tube of some sort of cookies. Natasha grabbed a small tub of ice cream, a bag of chips, and a bottle of vodka, before heading for the teas, and grabbing two types and a bag of sugar. She insisted that they all get several litres of water. 

Despite everything being in Ukrainian, the store looked like Steve remembered bodegas looking like. The rows of bulk sweets, and the pre-bagged flour and sugar, were so similar that Steve half-expected to pay with ration coupons. He paid for everything, and they walked it back to their hotel. There, Steve noticed what he’d missed before, which was a plate, a cup, and a set of silverware for everyone. They plugged the minifridge in, and settled on Sam’s bed with their ice cream. 

“Not bad for our first day, huh?” Natasha asked. Steve and Sam agreed. It had been a good day. Tomorrow, they would start in earnest, beginning with the school in the picture that Bucky had marked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The hotel room is an exact match to a 2+1 room I stayed in at a hotel in Kyiv.  
> \- Most Ukrainian hotels insist that you leave the key at the desk when you leave; this can lead to humorous situations of trying to remember both your room number and how to say it in Ukrainian.  
> \- The pizza place is called "Chelentano" and can be found in any Ukrainian town.  
> \- The little Produkti Natasha takes them to is called "Kupetsʹ" and it is located directly across from their hotel; the chain has camels painted on the outside of the building  
> \- The hotel is called the "Druzhba Hotel," which translates as the "Friendship Hotel."


	10. Chapter 9: Oleksandriya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve, Natasha, and Sam wander through the central Ukrainian town of Oleksandriya.

The next day started with Natasha walking them back to the main road through town, and then to a restaurant that she’d found. This restaurant was more of a cafe, and had a menu on the wall. Steve thought he figured out the language (at least with coffee; he’d been in enough coffee shops), but he wasn’t sure how to read the sign. He murmured that to Natasha, who told him that the sign was in scripted Ukrainian, not block Ukrainian. They ordered lattes and blinchiki. Natasha conversed with the young woman behind the counter, and she suggested a few of their best sellers. They got a savory and sweet blinchiki each. Natasha inquired at the wifi code, and got her phone on it. They took their seats, and discussed the town as they waited. 

JARVIS had yet to find any connection to HYDRA, though he was still collating. There was also limited information to connect the town to, well, anything. The town was a former mining town during the Soviet era, but the mines were closed. Natasha pulled data from various databases, and they spent their breakfast looking for any points of commonality. 

Their blinchiki were excellent, and Steve made a note that he wanted to come back and try some of their other desserts and things. He also wanted to get his sketchbook out and sketch the interior of the cafe. He mentioned that to Natasha, who gave Sam a look. Sam sighed, before pulling Steve’s sketchbook from his small briefcase. He also handed Natasha what looked like a 50 Hryvnia note. Steve gave Natasha a look, but she simply slid from the booth and went to the counter to order something else. Steve leaned back into the corner of the booth, and started sketching. He enjoyed the short time he got when he didn’t have to worry about anything. Natasha’s tea and another savory blinchiki for Sam arrived while he was sketching. After about half an hour, Steve finished up his sketch, and they got going. Natasha left 10 Hryvnia on the table for the waitress, and they headed out. 

Natasha had them head left from the cafe, back towards the pizza restaurant where they’d had dinner the night before. She explained that they were going to walk the length of main street, and see what they could see. They walked past a few various drug stores, stopping at the larger one, before walking past what Natasha called the “Palace of Culture”. They passed numerous people selling various things on the side of the road, the items ranging from eggs to fresh fruits and vegetables, to fresh fish and Halva and other sweets. Despite this being a recon mission, Steve and Sam stopped to buy a few things, and Natasha chatted with the women. She learned the location of the Saturday market, and where she could find Vyshyvanky and Vynoky. They kept going, Steve trying his Halva, and Sam nibbling his way through 200 grams of local strawberries. After a few solid minutes of walking, they ended up a major road. They crossed the street and walked back towards the cafe, now on the side of the road as the pizza restaurant. They didn’t see much else, just a large green bank and the pizza restaurant. Once they got to the road with their hotel, they kept going, and Natasha ordered them Kvass from a local vender. Sam didn’t like it, but Steve did. 

They kept going, and they walked through the main square, where Sam noticed a large hole where there used to be a statue. He asked Natasha about it, and it ended up in the same category as the barricades in Kyiv - not in the open. Natasha had them walk a couple of more blocks from the main square before they turned around and crossed the street. On their way back, she pointed out the local Rada building. They walked passed more main street shopping, before Sam said that he was ready for some more food. They were once again level with the restaurants they’d already been to, so they decided on pizza, again. 

There, following local customs, Steve got a beer to go with his pizza. They ate their pizzas, while Natasha went through the new data that JARVIS had sent her. He thought he’d identified the school in the picture, though Tony wasn’t sure. Steve showed her the sketch that he’d drawn of the painting that Bucky had marked, and it matched the building in the picture that JARVIS sent them. The color was off - the painting was a flat blue-gray, while the picture showed a pink building - though Steve was sure that it was the right building. They decided to do recon on the building and the surrounding area after lunch.

“Has anyone considered that this is a trap?” Sam asked. “That… Schmidt… is leading us here?” Steve caught how Sam used the name of the founder of HYDRA instead of referring to them outright. 

“I have,” Natasha admitted. “There is nothing to indicated that Schmidt was ever in this town. Nor was… Barnes.”

“What about boltholes?” Sam asked. Natasha shook her head, then sighed. 

“I asked Jay to run the school against anything and everything available on the internet. According to everything that Tony’s analysts can find, this school is exactly what it appears to be - a Gymnasium/Boarding School. They have a website, and it looks like they focus on science and technology, though they recently joined a larger school, and have added mandatory dance and more English lessons to the curriculum. They also added a half-day of school on Saturdays.” 

“Okay, I get boarding school, but what’s a Gymnasium?” Sam asked, while Steve scrolled through the data.

“It’s magnet school,” Steve said, looking up from the data. “According to J, there are a lot of them throughout Ukraine, and they all are competitive admissions schools, each with a specific focus. He says that this one is unusual, in that they have more than one focus. It looks like they may have had a small, yet significant drop in enrollment, which is appears to be why they linked up with similarly minded school in the capital city.”

“Where are you getting that, Steve?” Natasha asked, scrolling quickly through the information on her tablet. Steve equivocated for a moment. 

“I’m comparing these figures to these figures, and comparing them to other, similar figures,” Steve admitted, using his ring finger to flip through the open apps on his tablet. “Then using this information from the school in the capitol. It wasn’t…” Steve trailed off. 

“I keep forgetting that you really were the Commando’s strategist, that it wasn’t all for show,” Sam murmured, glaring at Natasha. He bumped Steve’s shoulder, and asked if Steve had any insights about why this school in particular.

“As Natasha says, there is nothing to indicate that this school has any connection back to Schmidt or any of his friends.” Steve noticed that Natasha was sneaking covert glances at a fellow patron. He realized that the chill he was feeling was the hair standing up on the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him, and glanced around the restaurant, before murmuring “we need to get out of here, we’re being watched.”

“ _Watched_ watched, or bored housewife watched?” Sam asked quietly, already grabbing his bag. Steve held up one finger as he stood. 

“The former, I think,” Natasha agreed, fluidly standing. “Let’s see if we’re being followed.” With quick steps, she directed them towards the main square. The person observing their every move watched them leave, but quickly stood up and followed them, a glint of metal at his left wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The cafe with the blinchiki (the Russian or Ukrainian version of Crêpes) exists, even if Google Maps insists it doesn't. The coffee isn't the best, but the blinchiki are quite good.  
> \- Oleksandriya is only just really starting to recover from the closing of the Soviet mines.  
> \- The description of walking up and down the main street is rather accurate, as I've done it.  
> \- [ Halva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva#Ukraine) is a type of sweet. The Ukrainian version is made from nut, specifically the sunflowers for which Ukraine is famous.  
> \- Vyshyvanky (singular "Vyshyvanka") are the [ traditional shirts in Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyshyvanka). They can be hand-embroidered or store-bought, though the handmade ones are much better. They are usually rather basic, peasant-style, white blouses with elaborate embroidery along the front, chest, and in multiple places along the sleeves. They can be embroidered in any color, and each Oblast and region has its own pattern and color.  
> \- Vynoky (singular "Vynok") are [ traditional Ukrainian flower crowns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_wreath), worn by girls and young (unmarried) women. While they are traditionally worn only during certain occasions, it has been increasingly common for them to be worn regularly, since [ EuroMaidan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution).  
> \- [ Kvass is a "fermented non-alcoholic or low alcohol drink" ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass) common in Slavic countries. It's an acquired taste, and very refreshing on a hot summer day. It is quite likely that Steve had it in New York, back in the 20s or 30s, as there is a large Russian population in the Brighton Beach area.  
> \- Oleksandriya's Main Square used to be called Lenin Square, and used to feature a statue of Vladimir Lenin.  
> \- In 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law requiring "Decommunization." This has led to towns changing names, and statues being torn down.  
> \- Not everything said about the school in the painting is true.


	11. Chapter 10: The School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve learns what there is (or isn't) to know about the school in the painting.

“We are being followed.” Natasha’s pronouncement sounded serious, but neither Sam nor Steve reacted. “Let’s split up. At the next intersection, I’ll slide off. We’re heading to the bus station. Keep going straight up this road and it’ll be on your left. I’ll meet you there.” Natasha slid what looked like regular headphones into her ears, before slowing her pace and letting herself get separated. Every few moments, she would let Steve know that she was still on track for the bus station, but those moments were tense for Steve. She eventually confirmed that the person or persons following them had not followed her, but were continuing to tail Steve and Sam. They kept walking, eventually seeing the bus station in the distance. They quickly stepped inside, and Steve headed over to the small bus station cafe, where he ordered two coffees. Natasha joined them a minute later and ordered her own coffee. They sat in the cafe area and discussed their day as lightly as they could. 

After a few minutes, Natasha pointed out the person who had been at the restaurant and had followed them to the bus station. She had a decision to make, and fast. She nodded. 

“We are going to have to do our recon fast, then get out of this city. If that’s who I think that is… We have to get them away from civilians.” She took a deep breath, before queuing up her tablet and bringing JARVIS online. “J, potential trouble. Tony, I need a Kupeny compartment on the next overnight train. Preferably to a city near a border with an EU country. Sam, go back to the hotel. Take a cab. I’ll tell the driver to wait. Check out, grab our bags, and take the same taxi to the train station. Steve and I am going to check out the school. I’m going to buy us bus tickets to Kyiv. Make it look like we’re bugging out and heading back. Keep your headphones in. And be prepared, we may need to break cover.” 

“Who is that?” Steve asked, taking covert glances at the person who’d been following them. “It doesn’t look like Barnes.”

“It’s not. Unless I am very wrong, that’s Crossbones. He’s… a friend of Schmidt’s. He’s very dangerous. And will have no problems with civilian deaths.” Tony was clearly listening, as 4 train tickets appeared on Natasha’s tablet. She stood, handed her tablet to Steve, and went to the counter to buy their bus tickets, blending in perfectly. She slid back to the table after a few minutes. 

“This should buy us some time. I’ll get us taxis. Sam, buy time. Remember, the train doesn’t leave until later tonight. I’ll decide if we need to use these bus tickets to get out of town, and will let you know how to be asked to be taken to the bus station instead.”

“Would that work?”

“Crossbones will think I bought tickets on the next bus to Kyiv. I didn’t. That should buy us time.” She led them to the waiting taxis, and put Sam in one, with specific instructions to wait for him at the hotel. Sam put his headphones in, nodding at Steve when he did so as well. Natasha then grabbed Steve and pulled him into another taxi. 

She asked the driver questions about the school, pretending that she and Steve had a little one that they were hoping to send there. Steve, realizing that he was beginning to pick up Ukrainian, nodded at the appropriate places and let Natasha interrogate their driver. He learned that Sam was not having a good time trying to check out of the hotel, and that the school was rather respected in town. 

The driver dropped them in front of a building that was a match for the painting. The school was had a gate at the main entrance and they walking through an outdoor play area for the younger students. Natasha murmured to Steve to remember that they were prospective parents, interested in sending their child to the school. Steve nodded. They were greeted as soon as they entered the school proper, and Natasha went into full prospective parent spiel. They put shoe protectors on their feet, and were taken on a tour of the school, by one of the teachers, a middle-aged man with an upturned nose that had been broken a time or two and intelligent brown eyes. He studied Steve for a second, and Steve was convinced that he could see right through him. He then smiled, before effortlessly switching to English. 

“Oleksandr Oleksandrovich, English teacher.” He extended his hand to Steve, but not to Natasha. 

“Grant Rogers,” Steve replied, counting himself lucky that he remembered his cover identity. He put his arm around Natasha, and prayed that he got this part right. “My wife, Natalia Alianovna.” 

“Natasha, please,” she demurred. She leaned further into Steve, and thanked the instructor for both meeting with them and for speaking to them in English. “My sweetheart’s Ukrainian just isn’t up to the task of anything beyond ordering coffee,” she said, as if it was a secret. The instructor laughed, and Steve noticed that the lines on his face were laugh lines. He took them on a tour of the building, showing off the cafeteria, the main room, and the gym. They got to meet various teachers, and Oleksandr translated for them. When pressed, Steve explained that he’d met Natasha while at work - he’d given her directions when she’d gotten lost. They’d hit it off, so when he got the chance for a transfer to Ukraine, he took it so that she could be closer to her family. 

“I’m a security consultant,” he said, “for Cobal Industries. We got a new contract in Kirofro…” Steve trailed off as Natasha giggled, before correcting him. 

“Key-ro-vo-grad, Grant, Kirovograd.” She giggled again, and let everyone know that she was tutoring him in Ukrainian. 

“ _If you’re working in Kirovohrad, why aren’t you two looking at a school in the city_?” someone asked in Ukrainian via Oleksandr.

“I wanted to be closer to her family,” Steve said, smiling down at Natasha. Everyone declared them to be “too sweet” and they were told that they would love for their children to come to the school. They were even given the paperwork for the admissions process. Natasha told them that they would get back to them with the completed paperwork, once they settled into their new flat. She asked to see the main room again, and they spent several long minutes looking at each of the paintings on the wall. 

Steve’s fingers itched to the draw the room, with the large windows, gauzy curtains, and large paintings on the walls. He paid close attention to any painting that appeared to be just off-center, but there was nothing that would indicate that Bucky had been to this school. He was beginning to wonder if it had been a trap to get them out of Kyiv, where there were always security cameras. They left the school, after thanking the instructors and returning the shoe protectors, and Natasha quickly walked them around the block. They came out around a bakery that smelled amazing, so they got some food. Natasha looked annoyed, and said that she had forgotten that they would need food if they were going to head straight to the train station, and walked them a few blocks to a little store. There, they bought various types of food and some drinks, and headed to the main square proper, where Natasha got them into a taxi to the train station. 

They met Sam at the train station, and Natasha asked Steve and Sam if they wanted to stay in the train station for a few hours, or if they wanted to take one of the buses to the next town over and get on the train in that town. Steve looked at their bags, and decided that they were going to stay at the train station. They headed into the waiting area, and settled around their bags. Steve pulled a newsboy hat on to cover his hair, and allowed Natasha to sit in his lap, Sam seated to his left. Steve spent the time before the train looking up everything he could on the person Natasha called “Crossbones,” confirmed his identity and was amused when Tony confirmed his arrival in Cherkasy, having clearly gotten on the next bus to Kyiv, as Natasha suspected. Natasha got their tickets printed, and soon it was time to head to the platform. 

They grabbed their bags, and dragged them over the tracks to the proper platform, and waited. After several tense minutes, the train came and they were able to secure their bags in their compartment. They put the big suitcases on the top right bunk, and made their bunks up with the bedding provided. Natasha tossed them the heavy blankets and they settled in on their trip. With Crossbones safely in another city (and possibly on his way to Kyiv), they would be safe overnight on the train. 

They chatted for a bit, and ate some of food that Sam had grabbed from the store across from the hotel. They saved some things for breakfast the next day, and settled in for the long night on the train. Despite his location, despite his worry about someone finding them on the train, despite everything, the slow and steady rocking of the train helped Steve fall into the first restful sleep he’d had since he’d awoken in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- This chapter intentionally shows a Russian/Ukrainian language different, with the name of the town.  
> \- Kirovograd is the Russian transliteration, while Kirovohrad is the Ukrainian transliteration (the town is now called Kropyvnytskyi, due to decommunization laws).  
> \- Natasha says she needs a "Kupeny compartment on the next overnight train." Overnight trains in Ukraine have three types of compartments, Platskartniyi, Kupeny, and Spal’nyi. Platskartniyi compartments (3rd class) are open compartments (no doors), with 6 beds to a compartment. Kupeny compartments (2nd class) are lockable cabins with 4 beds. Spal'nyi compartments (1st class) has two beds in the compartment.  
> \- Kupeny compartments are the most common for people who want to sleep on their way to their destination, as the Spal'nyi compartments are prohibitively expensive.  
> \- There are two upper bunks and two lower bunks in a Kupeny compartment. The top bunk is hard to get on and off, so most people buy lower bunks (you can select the bunks you want when you order your tickets online).  
> \- The information found on [ this TripAdvisor page](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294473-c131482/Ukraine:Train.Travel.html) is accurate, as they've included some updates that match what I remember.  
> \- The Crossbones mentioned in this story is not Brock Rumlow, but another HYDRA operative.  
> \- The school is really like that, from the gauzy curtains to the shoe protectors.  
> \- Oleksandr Oleskandrovich is a real person, though I changed his name.  
> \- In Ukraine, most people are addressed as "first name, patronymic." It is up to the person of higher standing to indicate if they want to be addressed by their nickname or not.  
> \- Most if not all Ukrainian names come with a shortened form, though some aren't very similar to the long form. For example, both Oleskandr and Oleskandra are shortened to "Sasha."  
> \- Oleksandr is the most common Ukrainian name, and I knew several Oleksandr Oleksandroviches and several Oleskansdra Oleksandrivnas.  
> \- Men and women do not shake hands in Ukraine. Men of all socio-economic groups shake hands, and men usually shake hands when meeting anyone, regardless of how well they know the person.   
> \- Women can shake hands with women, but a woman must offer her hand to a man if she wishes to shake hands.   
> \- It is incredibly bad luck to shake hands in a doorway or on a threshold.


	12. Chapter 11: Natalia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the train to L'viv, Steve draws his team. 
> 
> Art by the amazing [ sunrow ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrow).

They’d spent part of the evening the night before drinking the cognac that Sam had picked up along with the food, though Natasha stuck to her vodka. Steve was surprised that they had a slow morning, slowly waking up and getting partially dressed. They got coffee from the conductor, and Steve stayed relaxed throughout the trip. Natasha pulled out her tablet to do more research and talk to JARVIS, while Sam was reading on his.

Steve was settled into the corner of his bunk, and pulled out his sketchbook, planning to sketch the school from the previous day ( _Was it really only yesterday that they’d had a confirmed HYDRA presence and had to flee the city on an overnight train?_ ), but inspiration struck. Natasha was sitting across from him, at the little table where they had their coffee and the remains of their breakfast. Her feet were curled up under her, and she was staring vacantly at Steve, head resting on her hand, clearly thinking about whatever data Tony, JARVIS, and the analysts had gotten her. She looked softer than usual, the long blonde wig that she was still wearing making her look younger. She blinked, smiled at Steve, and went back to her tablet. Steve started sketching.

He drew a softer, gentler Natasha than most people got to see, sitting at a cafe similar to the ones they’d eaten at many times already this trip. Her eyes were softly focused on table in front of her, on the book she was reading. There was a cup of coffee at her elbow, and a plated slice of that cake she secretly loved. He drew her jacket just beginning to fall from her shoulders, revealing her dark top. She was resting her head on her left hand, elbow on the table, and she looked relaxed.

 

 

Steve smiled as he drew, sketching his teammates in similar situations. Tony was taking apart something mechanical at the table beside the window on the main floor of the Tower. Clint was crouched on top of the refrigerator, drinking coffee straight from the coffee pot. Bruce was standing at a lab table, the Sceptre in his hands. Thor was laughing on the couch, while Loki sat regally on a depiction of the Throne of Asgard. Sam was flying, his wings whole again. Rhodey (who Steve had just met a few weeks ago), was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching whatever was happening in the living room with a proud expression. Pepper was sitting behind her desk, her feet up on it, and her daring shoes on the floor. Fury was standing at the helm of the helicarriers during the Battle of New York. Maria Hill was standing in front of a window, looking at New York below her. It wasn’t until the conductor came to collect his bedding that he realized how long he’d been drawing for.

It must have been for more than a few hours as his hand cramped up as he put away his sketchbook. They were almost to the town they were going to, anyway. Sam and Natasha had their heads bent over their tablets, speaking quickly.

“Any news from Tony?” Steve asked, pulling out his tablet and activating the share program.

“One of his analysts thinks that there might be a HYDRA base near L’viv,” Natasha said. “Tony wants us to take a look at it, see if we need to call the team in.”

“If what this analyst says is really true, we may need to call the team,” Sam said, studying his tablet. “It’s not just a HYDRA base - it’s supposed to be one of the ones where they do their main experimenting.”

“What sort of experimenting?” Steve asked.

“Not sure. Children are going missing, and the analyst thinks that they are being kidnapped by HYDRA and experimented on.” Natasha frowned

“Perhaps for the same program the Soviets used? The Red Room?” Sam asked. Natasha flinched slightly.

“No, the analyst says that they are specifically going after twins…” Natasha trailed off. “No…” Her eyes widened. “The analyst says that this is there. That HYDRA is using it in their experiments.”

“What is there? What are they using?” Steve asked. Natasha clicked a few buttons and Loki’s Sceptre appeared on the screen in front of him.


	13. Chapter 12: The Sceptre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve states the obvious and Natasha goes shopping.

“We need to get that Sceptre from HYDRA.” Steve managed to state the obvious after a few moments. Sam and Nat nodded. Steve took a breath, and exhaled slowly, considering. “I don’t want to call in the team unless we have eyes-on confirmation that the Sceptre is in their hands.” Steve paused, and then started writing on his tablet, his eyes narrowed. Natasha and Sam watched as their tablets updated in real-time. 

“Natasha, I’ll need you to infiltrate the compound. See if you can figure out what’s actually going on. If you get confirmation of the Sceptre or another known alien artifact, report back immediately. Check for hostages or other victims, but do not risk your cover unless absolutely necessary.” Natasha nodded, her eyes narrowed and all traces of her softness gone: the Black Widow was ready. 

“Sam, you and I are going to tourist the nearest town. Be obvious Americans. _Obvious_ obvious Americans. We’ll keep cover until Natasha reports back. If she gets confirmation of the Sceptre or of other known alien artifacts, I will call in the rest of the team to take out the base.” Sam nodded. 

“Natasha, you’ve wielded the Sceptre before,” Steve said, pausing, remembering seeing Tony’s CCTV footage of Natasha turning off the portal, suit torn, hair blowing in the breeze, blood on her face. “If you think that you can get it out, do so. The more covert we can be, the better. If Bucky really has escaped his handlers, the last thing we want to do is draw attention to ourselves by taking out a HYDRA base as Avengers.” Natasha nodded, and used her tablet to start making arrangements. 

Steve watched at things popped quickly up on the screen, some disappearing before even he could read them. After a few minutes, he realized that Tony was creating a backstopped cover identify for her. The compound was known for biochemical research, and Steve saw an ID for a Dr. Jemma Simmons pop up on the screen. He watched as her face slowly morphed to that of Natasha, and realized that Tony was co-opting a real biochemist’s background as Natasha’s cover. He asked about the safety of Dr. Simmons and was informed that she and her husband had been invited to work at Stark Industries. She would be safe. 

The train arrived in L’viv, and Natasha procured them a taxi to the hotel. Tony had made reservations at a hotel a few blocks from Rynok Square, near the center of L’viv. They checked into the hotel, put their bags away, and found an expensive and touristy store to buy what Natasha needed to create her cover, which included a conservative skirt, a matching sweater, and a brunette wig. 

Back at the hotel, she changed into the clothes. HYDRA was sending a car to meet her at the train station ( _as Tony said “because that isn’t suspicious”_ ), so they walked to the main square before taking a taxi back to the train station. There, Natasha found where she was supposed to meet HYDRA, and waited. A few minutes later, a black sedan showed up. 

A man got out. Steve made sure to memorize his face, planning to draw him later. The man conversed with Natasha for a few minutes, and obviously assured of her identity as biochemist Dr. Jemma Simmons, opened the car door for her and helped her in. Natasha didn’t glance back at them, but Steve saw her make a few hand gestures. While they would look to be the nervous twitches of a slightly frightened scientist, Steve knew that Natasha was telling him how far away the compound was. Steve took a deep breath as the sedan drove away, watching until he lost it in traffic. He took out his phone, put in his headphones, and listened to what Natasha was saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> L'viv (sometimes referred to as "L'vov," "Lwow," or "Lemberg") is the largest city in western Ukraine. It has been considered Galician, Polish, German, Russian, and Ukrainian since it was founded in the 5th Century. It is one of the cultural hearts of of Ukraine. [ You can read more about Lviv here ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lviv).


	14. Chapter 13: Jemma Simmons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha goes undercover while Steve and Sam tourist L'viv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter will be posted on Saturday, 09 June, 2018. 
> 
> **Two characters are revealed at the end of this chapter, who will be really important for the final chapter and the sequel that is in the works.**

Natasha had put on a slight English accent on her words, and was asking questions about what the scientists were doing. They told her that they would explain everything to her once they got to the complex, before switching to what Steve recognized as Ukrainian. He was tempted to smirk, knowing that they had switched to Ukrainian thinking that “Doctor Simmons” showed no facilities for the local language. Their Ukrainian was heavily accented, and some of the words sounded different than Steve remembered. He decided that they were probably speaking a dialect, and hoped that Natasha spoke it. If not, however, they were recording everything Natasha said (and saw!), so Tony could get a linguist to translate, if necessary. 

It was a tense drive, especially since Natasha had decided to nix Steve and Sam being any closer to her than L’viv. Any closer, and there might be a HYDRA goon or two who would be able to recognize them. If Captain America was made near a HYDRA base, they would lock it down, and Natasha would be unable to escape. Steve had agreed, though he insisted that Tony ready the jet. Unbeknownst to Steve, Tony had already set flight, though he’d filed a flight plan for London. That way, he would be much closer to the base, were Steve to need backup. 

After learning that Natasha had arrived at the compound, Steve and Sam took the trolley back to the center of L’viv, and started touristing the place. They took pictures in front of the Opera House, the fountain, and outside various churches. They went into every shop they saw, and bought a few things at the souvenir shops. Steve bought small trinkets for the team, keeping his cover as a dumb American tourist. They went into the chocolate shop on the corner, and Steve realized that it was the same one that was near the hotel back in Kyiv. He expressed interest in the coffee shop across the street, but it was incredibly crowded. Instead, they ended up at a smaller cafe across the square. They settled in the back, and ordered coffee and dessert. 

The menu was in multiple languages, though their server didn’t speak much English, so Steve pointed to the drink he wanted in the menu. Sam laughed, and did the same thing. They also ordered something sweet to go with the coffee. Once everything had been served, they went pulled out their tablets and checked in on Natasha. 

Once Natasha entered the compound, everything had switched to JARVIS. Much like at the Tower and Tony’s other properties, JARVIS passively analyzed what was going on around him, looking for keywords. Today, he was actively listening for everything Natasha said, listening for any one of a number of coded phrases that would indicate that Natasha was in trouble, had “eyes-on” confirmation of the Sceptre, or needed backup. He was also running facial recognition on everyone at the compound, and letting Tony know if anyone was popping up. So far, no one surprising had come across the scanners, leading one of the analysts to tentatively say that there was no indication that any of the higher-ups was present. If so, the analyst went on to add, there was a 80-90% probability of Natasha being able to walk out of the compound with the Sceptre. Everything was fine, until Baron Wolfgang von Strucker appeared on the screen, and Steve almost called for the mission to be aborted. Knowing that Natasha could handle herself, he took a deep breath, and waited. 

They ordered more coffee, and Sam decided on actual food. He flipped through the menu and found something interesting, and ordered it along with their coffee. He also ordered food for Steve. They continued to wait. They had just finished their food when JARVIS reported that the compound had exploded, that Natasha was safe, and that she would meet them at the hotel. 

A few hours later, back at the hotel, Natasha explained how she got out of the HYDRA compound with not only the Sceptre, but with two children who couldn’t be more than 10.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chocolate shop Steve mentions is [ "Lviv Handmade Chocolate" ](https://www.chocolate.lviv.ua/en/#main), which is a cultural institution in Ukraine, and has shops in various large cities throughout Ukraine.
> 
> The coffee shop Steve expresses interest in is called "Lviv Coffee Manufacture," which is really popular with tourists, as it has a "coffee mine" where visitors wear a hard hat and go into a mine before getting to the interior courtyard. The coffee specialities are rather odd, as they specialize in coffee served with a shot of alcohol on the side, such as the Coffee L'vivsk'i (with an orange liquor that I was told was special to L'viv) and 'after meals coffee' (which was an Americano served with a heavy pour of sipping brandy). It's not the best coffee in L'viv, though it is a decent place to tourist. 
> 
> The cafe they end up at is [ Cafe Centaur ](http://centaur.lviv.ua/en), which is a good place to get coffee and Ukrainian food in L'viv. 
> 
> While they did not got there, there are two strudel restaurants on Market Square, as well as lots of cafes, several Italian restaurants, and around a dozen bars/pubs. And that's just Market Square proper - there are hundreds to thousands of cafes, restaurants, and bars within a three block radius.


	15. Chapter 14: The Janitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> The Russian in this chapter has a "span title," which allows you to roll your curser over the phrase for the translation. The translations can also be found in the end notes.

Inside the compound, Natasha was sure that more was going on than met the eye. It looked as if the compound was a standard, run of the mill, slightly sketchy government facility that was doing potentially dangerous biochemical research. Which was exactly what HYDRA wanted everyone to think. With facilities like that all over this area of the world, no one would look twice at it. They gave her a tour of the facility, and she made a note of any stairs and lifts, anything that would get her into the basement level that they refused to talk about. She asked them about the type of biochemical research they were doing, and was grateful that, not only was JARVIS recording, but that the real Jemma Simmons was safely ensconced at the Tower. They were not only doing untested research on non-consenting human subjects, they were trying to create the next generation of supersoldiers.

An hour or so after she arrived, she still hadn’t seen anything of importance, or anything that conclusively stated that the compound was HYDRA. She hadn’t seen the Sceptre, or heard anyone talking about it or another alien artifact. The man who had picked her up at the train station led her to a computer terminal, and logged her into their system. She thanked him, and inserted a special flash drive that Tony had given her. While it looked like a normal thumb drive that anyone might have, it had a chip that let JARVIS access it. All of the Avengers had one. Natasha opened one of the files on her desktop, and studied it as JARVIS copied everything on both the computer’s hard drive and the company server. They kept HR records, and Tony made a note to let INTERPOL and the appropriate authorities know, assuming that the Avengers didn’t leave the compound as a smoking hole in the ground. 

After thirty minutes, JARVIS alerted her that he’d found where the Scepter was being held. She excused herself from her computer terminal, and headed towards the staircase hidden behind a set of fire doors. She didn’t noticed the janitor following her, something she would wonder about for a long time to come.

She reached the fire doors just in time for the metal to start moving, flowing smoothly until there was no way for her to enter the stairwell. For a moment, she considered that HYDRA had developed something that allowed them to control who was able to enter any area. It would be a perfect way of controlling everything about the people they abducted, as well. Then she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see the janitor walking down the hallway towards her, his right hand extended. He looked vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere, but his beard prevented her from making a positive identification. 

“Кто ты?” he asked, his Russian slightly accented. German, if she were to guess. She backed against the door, and tried to determine what the real Jemma Simmons would do in this situation. She started shaking, using that to hide that she was reaching for her knife. His eyes narrowed, and he repeated his question: “Кто ты?” She shook her head. 

“Извините, я не говорю по-русски,” she said, her voice shaking, quaking in fear. He studied her for a long moment, before lowering his hand, nodding. 

“Черная вдова.” He looked at her. "Die schwarze Witwe.” He stepped forward, menacingly. Realizing her cover had just been blown, Natasha pulled her knife from where she’d hidden it and thrust it at the janitor, who had clearly watched the news recently. Except… 

The knife stopped, tip against his shirt, angled just between his third and fourth rib. He gave her a flat look, before glancing down at the knife. He raised an eyebrow, and the knife rose with it. 

“Who are you?” She gasped out. 

“Erik Lehnsherr. And I am looking for my children.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a sequel in the works. I already have the first chapter and a half written, but it's probably going to have to wait until after the 2018 Captain American Big Bang.
> 
> Кто ты - Who are you? (Russian)  
> Извините, я не говорю по-русски. - I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian (Russian)  
> Черная вдова. - The Black Widow. (Russian)  
> Die schwarze Witwe. - The Black Widow (German)


End file.
